MRS. BUSH: Thank you, Michael. Michael is doing a terrific job -- you
may not know this -- of taking the Kennedy Center worldwide. He has
online chats with arts organizations all around the world, giving them
the experiences and the expertise that he has here at the Kennedy
Center. And it's such a really wonderful way for the United States to
promote friendships with countries around the world.

And I'm so happy today to be here with Mrs. Musharraf to try to work to
make sure the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States
have a chance to get to understand each other and like each other.

Darrell Ayers is here, the Vice President for Education of the John F.
Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and I especially want to recognize
Mr. Naeem Tahir, the Chief Executive Director of the Pakistan National
Council of the Arts.

Students and teachers from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Thomas
Jefferson School of Science and Technology, and Archbishop Carroll High
School, thank you all very much for joining us today.

And then in the crowd are very -- many ministers and distinguished
guests from Pakistan and from the United States, and I want to welcome
you, as well.

Thank you all for coming to help launch the "Gifts of the Indus: The
Arts and Culture of Pakistan." I'm so delighted to be here with the
First Lady of Pakistan, Mrs. Sehba Musharraf. Mrs. Musharraf cares
deeply about education. In fact, she's devoted her career to education
by being a teacher and a school principal. As First Lady, she's worked
to improve education in Pakistan, and also the health of the people of
Pakistan.

Mrs. Musharraf was with me Monday in New York at a White House
Conference on Global Literacy. At the conference, we heard from
panelists around the world talking about literacy programs in their
countries. We heard from a Family Literacy Project in South Africa that
teaches mothers to read so they can pass their literacy skills onto
their children. We heard about Learning for Life, teachers in
Afghanistan who teach women to read so that they can keep themselves and
their families healthy. And we heard from a group from Brazil, AlfaSol,
which teaches young people to read so they have the chance of getting
good jobs.

Each of these programs show how investing in education helps governments
fulfill their basic obligations to their citizens, improving
opportunities for children and families, strengthening economies, and
keeping their citizens in good health.

Investing in education is also vital for diplomacy, because, as with
Pakistan and the United States, friendships and alliances are often
built on a shared love for learning. Our countries are allied in the
efforts to secure peace, and Pakistan and America also cooperate to
advance knowledge in fields like energy, technology, and science.

Today, our countries are working together to increase our understanding
of arts and cultures. One of the best ways the people of Pakistan and
the United States can deepen our friendship is for the people of our
countries to deepen their knowledge of each other's culture. Pakistan
has a fascinating culture, dating back thousands of years. President
Bush and I were privileged to enjoy some of Pakistan's artistic
offerings on our trip there earlier this year. And that's when I came
home and called Michael Kaiser and said, let's see if we can't let
Americans know about the wonderful arts and culture of Pakistan.

So today, through the "Gifts of the Indus" website, millions of people
around the world, especially students, can discover Pakistan's rich
cultural heritage. As part of this partnership between the Kennedy
Center and the Pakistan National Council on the Arts, visitors to the
website can learn about Pakistani culture from a variety of teaching
resources. These include a broad collection of videos about the people
of Pakistan, their daily family life, and the diversity of Pakistan's
arts -- from painting to calligraphy to miniatures to sculpture to
poetry.

Thank you to the Kennedy Center and to the Pakistan National Council of
the Arts for developing this initiative, and for your dedication to arts
education. And thank you, Mrs. Musharraf for your commitment to
strengthening our countries' friendships through art and culture.